Shaped abrasive particles and method of making

ABSTRACT

A method of making shaped abrasive particles including forming an abrasive flake comprising a plurality of precursor shaped abrasive particles and a frangible support joining the precursor shaped abrasive particles together; transporting the abrasive flake through a rotary kiln to sinter the abrasive flake; and breaking the sintered abrasive flake into individual shaped abrasive particles. The method is useful to make small shaped abrasive particles having insufficient mass to be efficiently individually sintered in a rotary kiln without joining two or more of the shaped abrasive particles together.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.14/701,559, filed May 1, 2015, allowed, which is a divisionalapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/818,365, filed Feb. 22,2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,039,797 on May 26, 2015, which is anational stage filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT/US2011/056833, filedOct. 19, 2011, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl. No.61/408,788, filed Nov. 1, 2010, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference in their entirety herein.

BACKGROUND

Abrasive particles and abrasive articles made from the abrasiveparticles are useful for abrading, finishing, or grinding a wide varietyof materials and surfaces in the manufacturing of goods. As such, therecontinues to be a need for improving the cost, performance, or life ofthe abrasive particle and/or the abrasive article.

Triangular shaped abrasive particles and abrasive articles using thetriangular shaped abrasive particles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,201,916 to Berg; U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,523 to Rowenhorst (Re. 35,570);and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,988 to Berg. In one embodiment, the abrasiveparticles' shape comprised an equilateral triangle. Triangular shapedabrasive particles are useful in manufacturing abrasive articles havingenhanced cut rates.

SUMMARY

Shaped abrasive particles, in general, can have superior performanceover randomly crushed abrasive particles. By controlling the shape ofthe abrasive particle, it is possible to control the resultingperformance of the abrasive article. In order to reduce the cut rate andimprove the finish when using shaped abrasive particles to abrade workpieces, smaller sized shaped abrasive particles are required. Typically,shaped abrasive particles that are produced in commercial quantities arecalcined and sintered in a rotary kiln, instead of an oven, in order toeconomically produce large quantities when manufacturing the shapedabrasive particles. Rotary kilns often have a counter-current hot airflow relative to the abrasive particle's travel down the inclined slopeof the rotary kiln. As the shaped abrasive particle becomes smaller andsmaller, the air currents within the rotary kiln can impede its progressthrough the rotary kiln slowing the normal residence time within therotary kiln or even picking up and exhausting the shaped abrasiveparticles with the gaseous volatiles produced during sintering. As theshaped abrasive particle becomes too small, eventually none of theshaped abrasive particles exit from the rotary kiln and all remaininside the kiln or are exhausted with the gaseous volatiles.

The inventor has determined that to solve this problem it is necessaryto temporarily connect the shaped abrasive particles to each other witha frangible support in order to form larger abrasive flakes containingthe individually formed shaped abrasive particles. These larger abrasiveflakes can readily pass through the rotary kiln due to their sizewithout the above described problems and then can be mechanicallymanipulated to break the sintered abrasive flakes into the individualshaped abrasive particles. The frangible support can be a substantiallycontinuous thin web of the material surrounding the shaped abrasiveparticle or discontinuous bond posts connecting each shaped abrasiveparticle to the next shaped abrasive particle. By controlling thethickness of the frangible support, its fracture toughness can becontrolled to enable fracturing the sintered abrasive flake intoindividual shaped abrasive particles.

Hence, in one embodiment, the invention resides in a method of makingshaped abrasive particles comprising: forming an abrasive flakecomprising a plurality of precursor shaped abrasive particles and afrangible support joining the precursor shaped abrasive particlestogether; transporting the abrasive flake through a rotary kiln tosinter the abrasive flake; and breaking the sintered abrasive flake intoindividual shaped abrasive particles.

In another embodiment, the invention resides in a sintered abrasiveflake comprising a plurality of shaped abrasive particles and afrangible support joining the shaped abrasive particles together.

In another embodiment, the invention resides in a plurality of shapedabrasive particles having an abrasives industry specified nominal gradeor nominal screened grade each of the shaped abrasive particlescomprising a fractured surface of a frangible support attached to theshaped abrasive particle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, andis not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentdisclosure, which broader aspects are embodied in the exemplaryconstruction.

FIG. 1 is a photomicrograph of sintered abrasive flakes comprisingshaped abrasive particles and a frangible support.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an sintered abrasive flake comprisingshaped abrasive particles and a frangible support.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of individual shaped abrasive particles restingon a screen after mechanically breaking the frangible support.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of a shaped abrasive particle and with a portionof the frangible support remaining attached to the shaped abrasiveparticle.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are illustrations of another embodiment of shapedabrasive particles.

Repeated use of reference characters in the specification and drawingsis intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements ofthe disclosure.

Definitions

As used herein, forms of the words “comprise”, “have”, and “include” arelegally equivalent and open-ended. Therefore, additional non-recitedelements, functions, steps or limitations may be present in addition tothe recited elements, functions, steps, or limitations.

As used herein, the term “abrasive dispersion” means an alpha aluminaprecursor that can be converted into alpha alumina that is introducedinto a mold cavity. The composition is referred to as an abrasivedispersion until sufficient volatile components are removed to bringsolidification of the abrasive dispersion.

As used herein, “abrasive flake” refers to the unsintered structure of aplurality of precursor shaped abrasive particles joined together by afrangible support while “sintered abrasive flake” refers to thestructure after being sintered comprising a plurality of shaped abrasiveparticles joined together by a frangible support.

As used herein, the term “precursor shaped abrasive particle” means theunsintered particle produced by removing a sufficient amount of thevolatile component from the abrasive dispersion, when it is in the moldcavity, to form a solidified body that can be removed from the moldcavity and substantially retain its molded shape in subsequentprocessing operations.

As used herein, the term “shaped abrasive particle”, means a ceramicabrasive particle with at least a portion of the abrasive particlehaving a predetermined shape. Often the shape is replicated from a moldcavity used to form the precursor shaped abrasive particle. Except inthe case of abrasive shards (e.g. as described in U.S. application Ser.No. 12/336,877), the shaped abrasive particle will generally have apredetermined geometric shape that substantially replicates the moldcavity that was used to form the shaped abrasive particle. The moldcavity could reside on the surface of an embossing roll or be containedwithin a flexible belt or production tooling. Alternatively, the shapedabrasive particles can be precisely cut from a sheet of dried sol-gel bya laser beam into the desired geometric shape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Sintered Abrasive Flakes

Referring to FIG. 1 sintered abrasive flakes 10 comprising shapedabrasive particles 12 and a frangible support 14 are illustrated. Thesintered abrasive flakes, the shaped abrasive particles, and thefrangible support comprise a ceramic. In one embodiment, the ceramic cancomprise alpha alumina particles made from a dispersion of aluminumoxide hydroxide or aluminum monohydrate that is gelled, molded to aspecific shape, dried to form abrasive flakes containing precursorshaped abrasive particles, calcined, and then sintered as discussedherein later.

In order to effectively process the abrasive flakes through the rotarykiln, the largest dimension of the sintered abrasive flakes should begreater than or equal to 0.50, 0.60, or 0.70 mm. As the size of theabrasive flake becomes larger, it is more easily processed through therotary kiln without undue influence from air currents within the kiln oreven sticking to the interior of the kiln due to the abrasive flakehaving too small of a mass. However, large abrasive flakes are prone tosol-gel cracking (desiccation cracking) and are thus somewhatself-limiting in their maximum size. In some embodiments, the sinteredabrasive flakes have a maximum dimension of 2 cm or less. In embodimentsof the invention, the size of the sintered abrasive flakes can be suchthat they do not pass through a U.S.A. Standard Test Sieve conforming toASTM E-11 having a mesh size of 18, 16, 14, or smaller size sieve numberand are retained within the sieve.

In other embodiments of the invention, the average mass of the sinteredabrasive flakes can be greater than or equal to 7×10⁻³ grams, greaterthan or equal to 9×10⁻³ grams, or greater than or equal to 11×10⁻³grams. The average mass of the sintered abrasive flakes can bedetermined by weighing 100 individual sintered abrasive flakes andaveraging the result. The inventors have determined than when makingindividual shaped abrasive particles having an average mass of less than9×10⁻³ grams, the efficiency of the process begins to decrease andlosses of the shaped abrasive particles when sintering in a rotary kilnbegin to occur.

The method of processing the abrasive flakes through the rotary kiln isespecially effective when the overall size (defined as the minimumdimension that passes through a screen) of the shaped abrasive particlesafter being separated from the frangible support is less than or equalto 0.70, 0.60, or 0.50 mm and greater than 0.0 mm. As the shapedabrasive particle's size becomes larger, it is unnecessary tointerconnect several particles to efficiently sinter the particles in arotary kiln. Once the size is large enough to sinter individualparticles, it is easier to do that directly without the added processingsteps of interconnecting the precursor shaped abrasive particles priorto sintering and then separating the shaped abrasive particles aftersintering. In embodiments of the invention, the size of the shapedabrasive particles, after being separated, pass through a U.S.A.Standard Test Sieve conforming to ASTM E-11 having a mesh size of 18,20, 25 or greater size sieve number and are not retained within thesieve.

In other embodiments of the invention, the average mass of the shapedabrasive particles, after being separated, can be less than or equal to5×10⁻³ grams, less than or equal to 7×10⁻³ grams, or less than or equalto 9×10⁻³ grams. The average mass of the shaped abrasive particles canbe determined by weighing 100 individual shaped abrasive particles andaveraging the result. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4,the shaped abrasive particles had an average mass of 9×10⁻⁵ grams.

Based on the above size ranges, in general, each abrasive flake orsintered abrasive flake will contain approximately 2 to 1000, or 5 to100, or 5 to 50 precursor shaped abrasive particles or shaped abrasiveparticles held together by the frangible support. In many embodiments,the frangible support will comprise a continuous web or flangeconnecting the edges of each shaped abrasive particle to the next asbest seen in FIG. 1. In order to prevent the shaped abrasive particlesfrom separating during sintering, but still allow for the particles tobe readily separated after sintering, the thickness of the continuousweb should be controlled. In particular, the thickness of the continuousweb connecting individual precursor shaped abrasive particles or shapedabrasive particles should be from 0.03 to 0.15 mm, or from 0.01 to 0.20mm, or from 0.005 to 0.25 mm (as measured in the unfired state prior tocalcining or sintering, or 2 to 150 μm, 5 to 100 μm, or 10 to 50 μmafter sintering. If the thickness is too small, then the abrasive flakescould prematurely separate into precursor shaped abrasive particlesduring handling. If the thickness is too large, then the shaped abrasiveparticles could be damaged or fractured when trying to separate themfrom the continuous web or be extremely difficult to separate from thefrangible support.

In some embodiments, the frangible support will comprise one or morebond posts 16 connecting adjacent shaped abrasive particles 12 to eachother such that the abrasive flake 10 comprises a plurality of shapedabrasive particles connected to each other by a plurality of bond postsas seen in FIG. 2. While the bond posts can be located anywhere on theshaped abrasive particle, typically they will be located along the edgesof the shaped abrasive particles and not at the vertices where the edgesintersect as illustrated in FIG. 2. Locating the bond posts at thevertices could have an effect on the grinding performance, since thevertex of the shaped abrasive particle is often the initial cuttingpoint during use. As such, it is desirable to mold this to a specificcutting profile and not have an uncontrolled, fractured surface presentat this location. In general, each shaped abrasive particle or precursorshaped abrasive particle in the sintered abrasive flake or the abrasiveflake will comprise from 2 to 20 bond posts, or from 2 to 10 bond postsjoining the shaped abrasive particle to the surrounding shaped abrasiveparticles in the abrasive flake.

Often the thickness of the bond posts will be greater than that of thecontinuous web as the area of the frangible support adjoining individualparticles is reduced; however, this is not a requirement. Greater bondpost thickness at the discrete bond post locations can help to keep theshaped abrasive particles attached to one another while beingtransported through the kiln. In particular, the thickness of the bondposts can be from 0.03 to 0.15 mm, or from 0.01 to 0.20 mm, or from0.005 to 0.25 mm (as measured in the unfired state prior to calcining orsintering), or 2 to 150 μm, 5 to 100 μm, or 10 to 50 μm after sintering.If the thickness is too small, then the abrasive flakes couldprematurely separate into the precursor shaped abrasive particles duringhandling. If the thickness is too large, then the shaped abrasiveparticles could be damaged or fractured when trying to separate themfrom the bond posts.

The width of the bond posts along the edge can vary significantly sinceas they become wider they approach a continuous web as one bond postnearly touches the next adjacent bond post. However, in general, thebond posts will have a coverage percentage (calculated as the totaldistance for all bond posts along a side edge divided by the length ofthe side edge times 100) that is equal to or less than 50%, 40%, 30%,20%, or 10%. Reducing the width of the individual bond posts allows fora cleaner edge having less fractured surface area once the shapedabrasive particles are separated after sintering. This often willproduce a sharper shaped abrasive particle. In some embodiments, thebond posts could interfere with the finish when very small shapedabrasive particles are made and the bond posts do not fracture cleanlyfrom the edge of the shaped abrasive particles.

Shaped Abrasive Particles

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5 b, in one embodiment, the shaped abrasiveparticles after separation from the frangible support can comprise thinbodies having a first major surface 24, and a second major surface 26and having a thickness T. In some embodiments, the thickness T rangesbetween about 5 micrometers to about 1 millimeter. The shaped abrasiveparticles can comprise a uniform thickness or the thickness of theshaped abrasive particles can taper or vary. In some embodiments, thefirst major surface 24 and the second major surface 26 are connected toeach other by at least one sidewall 22, which may be a sloping sidewallas having a draft angle α between the second major surface 26 and thesidewall 22 other than 90 degrees. In some embodiments, more than onesloping sidewall 22 can be present and the slope or angle for eachsloping sidewall 22 may be the same or different as more fully describedin pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/337,075 filed on Dec. 17,2008 entitled “Shaped Abrasive Particles With A Sloping Sidewall.” Inother embodiments, the sidewall 22 can intersect the first major surface24 and the second major surface 26 at a 90 degree angle.

The first and second major surfaces (24, 26) comprise a selectedgeometric shape such as a circle, an oval, a triangle, a quadrilateral(rectangle, square, trapezoid, rhombus, rhomboid, kite, superellipse),or other multi-edged geometric shape (pentagon, hexagon, octagon, etc).Alternatively, the first and second major surfaces (24, 26) can comprisean irregular, repeatable shape (replicated by the mold cavity) or ashape combining line segments and arcuate segments to form the outlineor perimeter. Depending on the draft angle α, the areas of the first andsecond major surfaces of each shaped abrasive particle can be the sameor different. In many embodiments, the shaped abrasive particlescomprise a prism (90 degree draft angle) or a truncated pyramid (draftangle not equal to 90 degrees) such as a triangular prism, a truncatedtriangular pyramid, a rhombus prism, or a truncated rhombus pyramid toname a few possibilities.

In various embodiments of the invention, the draft angle α can bebetween approximately 90 degrees to approximately 135 degrees, orbetween approximately 95 degrees to approximately 130 degrees, orbetween about 95 degrees to about 125 degrees, or between about 95degrees to about 120 degrees, or between about 95 degrees to about 115degrees, or between about 95 degrees to about 110 degrees, or betweenabout 95 degrees to about 105 degrees, or between about 95 degrees toabout 100 degrees. As discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/337,075 entitled “Shaped Abrasive Particles With A Sloping Sidewall”filed on Dec. 17, 2008, specific ranges for the draft angle α have beenfound to produce surprising increases in the grinding performance ofcoated abrasive articles made from the shaped abrasive particles with asloping sidewall. In particular, draft angles of 98 degrees, 120degrees, or 135 degrees have been found to have improved grindingperformance over a draft angle of 90 degrees. The improvement ingrinding performance is particularly pronounced at draft angles of 98degrees or 120 degrees as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/337,075.

In various embodiments of the invention, the shaped abrasive particles20 can include additional features. In some embodiments, the first majorsurface 24 is substantially planar, the second major surface 26 issubstantially planar, or both are substantially planar. Alternatively,one side could be concave or recessed as discussed in more detail incopending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/336,961 entitled“Dish-Shaped Abrasive Particles With A Recessed Surface”, filed on Dec.17, 2008. A concave or recessed surface can be created by selectingdrying conditions for the sol-gel while residing in the mold cavity thatforms a meniscus in the sol-gel tending to wick the edges of the sol-gelup the sides of the mold as discussed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/336,961. A concave surface may help to increase the cuttingperformance in some applications similar to a hollow ground chiselblade.

Additionally, one or more openings passing through the first majorsurface 24 and the second major surface 26 could be present in theshaped abrasive particles as discussed in more detail in copending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/337,112 entitled “Shaped AbrasiveParticles With An Opening”, filed on Dec. 17, 2008. An opening throughthe shaped abrasive particles can reduce the bulk density of the shapedabrasive particles thereby increasing the porosity of the resultingabrasive article in some applications, such as a grinding wheel, whereincreased porosity is often desired. Alternatively, the opening canreduce shelling by anchoring the particle into the size coat more firmlyor the opening can act as a reservoir for a grinding aid. An opening canbe formed into the shaped abrasive particle by selecting dryingconditions that exaggerate the meniscus phenomenon discussed above, orby making a mold having one or more posts extending from the mold'ssurface. Methods of making shaped abrasive particles with an opening arediscussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/337,112.

Additionally, the shaped abrasive particles can have a plurality ofgrooves on the first or second major surface as described in copendingpatent application U.S. Ser. No. 12/627,567 entitled “Shaped AbrasiveParticles With Grooves” filed on Nov. 30, 2009. The grooves are formedby a plurality of ridges in the surface of the mold cavity that havebeen found to make it easier to remove the precursor shaped abrasiveparticles from the mold. It is believed that a ridge having a triangularshaped cross section acts as a wedge lifting the precursor shapedabrasive particle off of the mold's bottom surface under dryingconditions that promote shrinkage of the sol-gel while residing in themold cavity.

Another suitable shaped abrasive particle is disclosed in U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/266,000 entitled “DualTapered Shaped Abrasive Particles” filed on Dec. 2, 2009. These shapedabrasive particles comprise a first side, a second side, a maximumlength along a longitudinal axis and a maximum width transverse to thelongitudinal axis. The first side comprises a quadrilateral having fouredges and four vertices with the quadrilateral selected from the groupconsisting of a rhombus, a rhomboid, a kite, or a superellipse. Thesecond side comprises a vertex and four facets forming a pyramid. Theaspect ratio of the maximum length to the maximum width is 1.3 orgreater. An example of such a shaped abrasive particle is shown in FIG.4.

Referring to FIG. 4, the shaped abrasive particles after separation fromthe frangible support comprise a fractured surface. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4, the fractured surface is located on a flange orflashing extending from the edge of the shaped abrasive particle. Inorder to prevent the shaped abrasive particles from separating duringsintering, but still allow for the particles to be readily separatedafter sintering, the thickness of the flange or flashing should becontrolled. In particular, the thickness of the flange or flashingshould be from 0.03 to 0.15 mm, or from 0.01 to 0.20 mm, or from 0.005to 0.25 mm (as measured in the unfired state prior to calcining orsintering), or 2 to 150 μm, 5 to 100 μm, or 10 to 50 μm after sintering.

The shaped abrasive particles 20 may also have a surface coating.Surface coatings are known to improve the adhesion between abrasivegrains and the binder in abrasive articles or can be used to aid inelectrostatic deposition of the shaped abrasive particles 20. Suchsurface coatings are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,213,591; 5,011,508;1,910,444; 3,041,156; 5,009,675; 5,085,671; 4,997,461; and 5,042,991. Inone embodiment, surface coatings as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,254in an amount of 0.1%-2% inorganics to shaped abrasive particle weightwere used. Additionally, the surface coating may prevent the shapedabrasive particle from capping. Capping is the term to describe thephenomenon where metal particles from the workpiece being abraded becomewelded to the tops of the shaped abrasive particles. Surface coatings toperform the above functions are known to those of skill in the art.

In another embodiment, a plurality of shaped abrasive particles havingan abrasives industry specified nominal grade or nominal screened grade,with each of the shaped abrasive particles comprising a fracturedsurface of a frangible support attached to the shaped abrasive particleare provided. The shaped abrasive particles made according to thepresent disclosure can be incorporated into an abrasive article selectedfrom the group consisting of an coated abrasive article, a bondedabrasive article, a nonwoven abrasive article, or an abrasive brush, anagglomerate, or used in loose form (abrasive slurry polishing). Abrasiveparticles are generally graded to a given particle size distributionbefore use. Such distributions typically have a range of particle sizes,from coarse particles to fine particles. In the abrasive art this rangeis sometimes referred to as a “coarse”, “control”, and “fine” fractions.Abrasive particles graded according to abrasive industry acceptedgrading standards specify the particle size distribution for eachnominal grade within numerical limits. Such industry accepted gradingstandards (i.e., abrasive industry specified nominal grade) includethose known as the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI)standards, Federation of European Producers of Abrasive Products (FEPA)standards, and Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) standards. ANSI gradedesignations (i.e., specified nominal grades) include: ANSI 4, ANSI 6,ANSI 8, ANSI 16, ANSI 24, ANSI 36, ANSI 40, ANSI 50, ANSI 60, ANSI 80,ANSI 100, ANSI 120, ANSI 150, ANSI 180, ANSI 220, ANSI 240, ANSI 280,ANSI 320, ANSI 360, ANSI 400, and ANSI 600. FEPA grade designationsinclude P8, P12, P16, P24, P36, P40, P50, P60, P80, P100, P120, P150,P180, P220, P320, P400, P500, P600, P800, P1000, and P1200. JIS gradedesignations include JIS8, JIS12, JIS16, JIS24, JIS36, JIS46, JIS54,JIS60, JIS80, JIS100, JIS150, JIS180, JIS220, JIS240, JIS280, JIS320,JIS360, JIS400, JIS600, JIS800, JIS1000, JIS1500, JIS2500, JIS4000,JIS6000, JIS8000, and JIS10,000.

Alternatively, the shaped abrasive particles can graded to a nominalscreened grade using U.S.A. Standard Test Sieves conforming to ASTM E-11“Standard Specification for Wire Cloth and Sieves for Testing Purposes.”ASTM E-11 prescribes the requirements for the design and construction oftesting sieves using a medium of woven wire cloth mounted in a frame forthe classification of materials according to a designated particle size.A typical designation may be represented as −18+20 meaning that theshaped abrasive particles pass through a test sieve meeting ASTM E-11specifications for the number 18 sieve and are retained on a test sievemeeting ASTM E-11 specifications for the number 20 sieve. In oneembodiment, the shaped abrasive particles have a particle size such thatmost of the particles pass through a 14 mesh test sieve and can beretained on a 16, 18, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, or 50 mesh test sieve. Invarious embodiments of the invention, the shaped abrasive particles canhave a nominal screened grade comprising: −18+20, −20/+25, −25+30,−30+35, −35+40, −40+45, −45+50, −50+60, −60+70, −70/+80, −80+100,−100+120, −120+140, −140+170, −170+200, −200+230, −230+270, −270+325,−325+400, −400+450, −450+500, or −500+635. Alternatively, a custom meshsize could be used such as −90+100.

Method of Making Abrasive Flakes And Shaped Abrasive Particles

Materials that can be made into shaped ceramic objects using the processof the invention include physical precursors such as finely dividedparticles of known ceramic materials such as alpha alumina, siliconcarbide, alumina/zirconia and CBN. Also included are chemical and/ormorphological precursors such as aluminum trihydrate, boehmite, gammaalumina and other transitional aluminas and bauxite. The most useful ofthe above are typically based on alumina and its physical or chemicalprecursors. It is to be understood however that the invention is not solimited but is capable of being adapted for use with a plurality ofdifferent precursor materials.

Other components that have been found to be desirable in certaincircumstances for the production of alumina-based particles includenucleating agents such as finely divided alpha alumina, ferric oxide,chromium oxide and other materials capable of nucleating thetransformation of precursor forms to the alpha alumina form; magnesia;titania; zirconia; yttria; and rare earth metal oxides. Such additivesoften act as crystal growth limiters or boundary phase modifiers. Theamount of such additives in the precursor is usually less than about 10%and often less than 5% by weight (solids basis).

It is also possible to use, instead of a chemical or morphologicalprecursor of alpha alumina, a slip of finely divided alpha aluminaitself together with an organic compound that will maintain it insuspension and act as a temporary binder while the particle is beingfired to essentially full densification. In such cases, it is oftenpossible to include in the suspension materials that will form aseparate phase upon firing or that can act as an aid in maintaining thestructural integrity of the shaped particles either during drying andfiring, or after firing. Such materials may be present as impurities.If, for example, the precursor is finely divided bauxite, there will bea small proportion of vitreous material present that will form a secondphase after the powder grains are sintered together to form the shapedparticle.

The dispersion that is employed in the process of the invention may beany dispersion of a ceramic precursor such as a finely dispersedmaterial that, after being subjected to the process of the invention, isin the form of a shaped ceramic article. The dispersion may bechemically a precursor, as for example boehmite is a chemical precursorof alpha alumina; a morphological precursor as for example gamma aluminais a morphological precursor of alpha alumina; as well as (oralternatively), physically a precursor in the sense of that a finelydivided form of alpha alumina can be formed into a shape and sintered toretain that shape.

Where the dispersion comprises a physical or morphological precursor asthe term is used herein, the precursor is in the form of finely dividedpowder grains that, when sintered together, form a ceramic article, suchas an abrasive particle of utility in conventional bonded and coatedabrasive applications. Such materials generally comprise powder grainswith an average size of less than about 20 microns, preferably less thanabout 10 microns and most preferably less than about a micron.

The dispersion used in a preferred process is most conveniently aboehmite sol-gel. The sol-gel may be a seeded sol-gel that comprisesfinely dispersed seed particles capable of nucleating the conversion ofalumina precursors to alpha alumina or an unseeded sol-gel thattransforms into alpha alumina when sintered.

The solids content of the dispersion of a physical or a morphologicalprecursor is preferably from about 40 to 65% though higher solidscontents of up to about 80% can be used. An organic compound isfrequently used along with the finely divided grains in such dispersionsas a suspending agent or perhaps as a temporary binder until the formedparticle has been dried sufficiently to maintain its shape. This can beany of those generally known for such purposes such as polyethyleneglycol, sorbitan esters and the like.

The solids content of a precursor that changes to the final stableceramic form upon heating may need to take into account water that maybe liberated from the precursor during drying and firing to sinter theabrasive particles. In such cases the solids content is typicallysomewhat lower such as about 75% or lower and more preferably betweenabout 30% and about 50%. With a boehmite sol-gel, a maximum solidscontent of about 60% or even 40% can be used and a sol-gel with apeptized minimum solids content of about 20% may also be used.

Abrasive particles made from physical precursors will typically need tobe fired at higher temperatures than those formed from a seeded chemicalprecursor. For example, whereas particles of a seeded boehmite sol-gelform an essentially fully densified alpha alumina at temperatures belowabout 1250 degrees C., particles made from unseeded boehmite sol-gelsmay require a firing temperature of above about 1400 degrees C. for fulldensification.

In one embodiment of making the shaped abrasive particles, the followingprocess steps can be utilized. The first process step involves providingeither a seeded on non-seeded abrasive dispersion that can be convertedinto alpha alumina. The alpha alumina precursor composition oftencomprises a liquid that is a volatile component. In one embodiment, thevolatile component is water. The abrasive dispersion should comprise asufficient amount of liquid for the viscosity of the abrasive dispersionto be sufficiently low to enable filling the mold cavities andreplicating the mold surfaces, but not so much liquid as to causesubsequent removal of the liquid from the mold cavity to beprohibitively expensive. In one embodiment, the abrasive dispersioncomprises from 2 percent to 90 percent by weight of the particles thatcan be converted into alpha alumina, such as particles of aluminum oxidemonohydrate (boehmite), and at least 10 percent by weight, or from 50percent to 70 percent, or 50 percent to 60 percent, by weight of thevolatile component such as water. Conversely, the abrasive dispersion insome embodiments contains from 30 percent to 50 percent, or 40 percentto 50 percent, by weight solids.

Aluminum oxide hydrates other than boehmite can also be used. Boehmitecan be prepared by known techniques or can be obtained commercially.Examples of commercially available boehmite include products having thetrademarks “DISPERAL”, and “DISPAL”, both available from Sasol NorthAmerica, Inc. or “HiQ-40” available from BASF Corporation. Thesealuminum oxide monohydrates are relatively pure, i.e., they includerelatively little, if any, hydrate phases other than monohydrates, andhave a high surface area. The physical properties of the resultingshaped abrasive particles 20 will generally depend upon the type ofmaterial used in the abrasive dispersion.

In one embodiment, the abrasive dispersion is in a gel state. As usedherein, a “gel” is a three dimensional network of solids dispersed in aliquid. The abrasive dispersion may contain a modifying additive orprecursor of a modifying additive. The modifying additive can functionto enhance some desirable property of the abrasive particles or increasethe effectiveness of the subsequent sintering step. Modifying additivesor precursors of modifying additives can be in the form of solublesalts, typically water soluble salts. They typically consist of ametal-containing compound and can be a precursor of oxide of magnesium,zinc, iron, silicon, cobalt, nickel, zirconium, hafnium, chromium,yttrium, praseodymium, samarium, ytterbium, neodymium, lanthanum,gadolinium, cerium, dysprosium, erbium, titanium, and mixtures thereof.The particular concentrations of these additives that can be present inthe abrasive dispersion can be varied based on skill in the art.Typically, the introduction of a modifying additive or precursor of amodifying additive will cause the abrasive dispersion to gel. Theabrasive dispersion can also be induced to gel by application of heatover a period of time.

The abrasive dispersion can also contain a nucleating agent (seeding) toenhance the transformation of hydrated or calcined aluminum oxide toalpha alumina. Nucleating agents suitable for this disclosure includefine particles of alpha alumina, alpha ferric oxide or its precursor,titanium oxides and titanates, chrome oxides, or any other material thatwill nucleate the transformation. The amount of nucleating agent, ifused, should be sufficient to effect the transformation of alphaalumina. Nucleating such abrasive dispersions is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,744,802 to Schwabel.

A peptizing agent can be added to the abrasive dispersion to produce amore stable hydrosol or colloidal abrasive dispersion. Suitablepeptizing agents are monoprotic acids or acid compounds such as aceticacid, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, and nitric acid. Multiprotic acidscan also be used but they can rapidly gel the abrasive dispersion,making it difficult to handle or to introduce additional componentsthereto. Some commercial sources of boehmite contain an acid titer (suchas absorbed formic or nitric acid) that will assist in forming a stableabrasive dispersion.

The abrasive dispersion can be formed by any suitable means, such as,for example, by simply mixing aluminum oxide monohydrate with watercontaining a peptizing agent or by forming an aluminum oxide monohydrateslurry to which the peptizing agent is added. Defoamers or othersuitable chemicals can be added to reduce the tendency to form bubblesor entrain air while mixing. Additional chemicals such as wettingagents, alcohols, or coupling agents can be added if desired. The alphaalumina abrasive grain may contain silica and iron oxide as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,645,619 to Erickson et al. on Jul. 8, 1997. The alphaalumina abrasive grain may contain zirconia as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,551,963 to Larmie on Sep. 3, 1996. Alternatively, the alphaalumina abrasive grain can have a microstructure or additives asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,161 to Castro on Aug. 21, 2001.

The second process step involves providing a mold having at least onemold cavity, and preferably a plurality of cavities. The cavity has aspecified three-dimensional shape to make the shaped abrasive particlesillustrated in FIGS. 1-5. In general, the shape of the cavity adjacentto the mold's upper surface forms the perimeter of the first majorsurface 24. The perimeter of the mold cavity at the bottom formsperimeter of the second major surface 26.

The plurality of cavities can be formed in a production tool. Theproduction tool can be a belt, a sheet, a continuous web, a coating rollsuch as a rotogravure roll, a sleeve mounted on a coating roll, anembossing roll or die. In one embodiment, the production tool comprisespolymeric material. Examples of suitable polymeric materials includethermoplastics such as polyesters, polycarbonates, poly(ether sulfone),poly(methyl methacrylate), polyurethanes, polyvinylchloride, polyolefin,polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene or combinations thereof, orthermosetting materials. In one embodiment, the entire tooling is madefrom a polymeric or thermoplastic material. In another embodiment, thesurfaces of the tooling in contact with the sol-gel while drying, suchas the surfaces of the plurality of cavities, comprises polymeric orthermoplastic materials and other portions of the tooling can be madefrom other materials. A suitable polymeric coating may be applied to ametal tooling to change its surface tension properties by way ofexample.

A polymeric or thermoplastic tool can be replicated off a metal mastertool. The master tool will have the inverse pattern desired for theproduction tool. The master tool can be made in the same manner as theproduction tool. In one embodiment, the master tool is made out ofmetal, e.g., nickel and is diamond turned. The polymeric sheet materialcan be heated along with the master tool such that the polymericmaterial is embossed with the master tool pattern by pressing the twotogether. A polymeric or thermoplastic material can also be extruded orcast onto the master tool and then pressed. The thermoplastic materialis cooled to solidify and produce the production tool. If athermoplastic production tool is utilized, then care should be taken notto generate excessive heat that may distort the thermoplastic productiontool limiting its life. More information concerning the design andfabrication of production tooling or master tools can be found in U.S.Pat. No. 5,152,917 (Pieper et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,816 (Spurgeon etal.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,097 (Hoopman et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,991(Hoopman et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,987 (Hoopman et al.); and U.S.Pat. No. 6,129,540 (Hoopman et al.).

Access to cavities can be from an opening in the top surface. In oneembodiment, the top surface is substantially parallel to bottom surfaceof the mold with the cavities having a substantially uniform depth. Oneside of the mold, i.e. the side in which the cavity is formed, canremain exposed to the surrounding atmosphere during the step in whichthe volatile component is removed.

The third process step involves filling the cavities in the mold withthe abrasive dispersion by any conventional technique. In someembodiments, a knife roll coater or vacuum slot die coater can be used.A mold release can be used to aid in removing the particles from themold if desired. Typical mold release agents include oils such as peanutoil or mineral oil, fish oil, silicones, polytetrafluoroethylene, zincstearate, and graphite. In general, between about 0.1% to about 5% byweight mold release agent, such as peanut oil, in a liquid, such aswater or alcohol, is applied to the surfaces of the production toolingin contact with the sol-gel such that between about 0.1 mg/in² to about3.0 mg/in², or between about 0.1 mg/in² to about 5.0 mg/in² of the moldrelease agent is present per unit area of the mold when a mold releaseis desired. In one embodiment, the top surface of the mold is coatedwith the abrasive dispersion. The abrasive dispersion can be pumped orapplied onto top surface. Next, a scraper or leveler bar can be used toforce the abrasive dispersion fully into the cavity of the mold. Theremaining portion of the abrasive dispersion that does not enter thecavity forms the frangible support that adjoins adjacent shaped abrasiveparticles. Alternatively, a sheet of the abrasive dispersion orprecursor ceramic material can be embossed or molded by a roll into aplurality of shaped structures joined by a frangible support, which canbe later separated into shaped abrasive particles. See for example U.S.Pat. No. 3,859,407 (Blanding et al.).

The fourth process step involves removing the volatile component to drythe dispersion. Desirably, the volatile component is removed by fastevaporation rates. In some embodiments, removal of the volatilecomponent by evaporation occurs at temperatures above the boiling pointof the volatile component. An upper limit to the drying temperatureoften depends on the material the mold is made from. For polypropylenetooling the temperature should be less than the melting point of theplastic.

In one embodiment, for a water dispersion of between about 40 to 50percent solids and a polypropylene mold, the drying temperatures can bebetween about 90 degrees C. to about 165 degrees C., or between about105 degrees C. to about 150 degrees C., or between about 105 degrees C.to about 120 degrees C. Higher temperatures can lead to improvedproduction speeds but can also lead to degradation of the polypropylenetooling limiting its useful life as a mold.

Abrasive flakes can be formed by allowing the sol-gel to be dried ateither room temperature or at elevated temperatures while the precursorabrasive particles reside in the tooling used to mold the precursorshaped abrasive particles. As the sol-gel dries, it is prone to sol-gelcracking (desiccation cracking similar to the cracks that form in driedup mud puddles) and will form a plurality of abrasive flakes of varioussizes while supported by the tooling. Alternatively, a rotary die cuttercan be used to cut specific sized abrasive flakes while the sol-gelresides in the tooling prior to the onset of desiccation cracking.

In another embodiment, a laser can be used to cut a dried sheet ofsol-gel into a plurality of precursor shaped abrasive particles joinedtogether by a frangible support. The laser can be used to partially cutthrough the thickness of the sol-gel forming the edges of the precursorshaped abrasive particles or the laser can cut out the precursor shapedabrasive particle leaving one or more bond posts attaching precursorshaped abrasive particle to one or more other precursor, shaped abrasiveparticles. After cutting with the laser, and optionally drying, thesheet can be broken into appropriate sized abrasive flakes, or the lasercan fully cut through the sheet in selected areas to make discreteabrasive flakes which are then sintered. Alternatively, the laser can beused to cut appropriate sized abrasive flakes while the precursorabrasive particles reside in the tooling used to mold them. Moreinformation concerning laser cutting shaped abrasive particles can befound in U.S. Ser. No. 61/408,813 entitled “Laser Method For MakingShaped Ceramic Abrasive Particles, Shaped Ceramic Abrasive Particles,And Abrasive Articles” co-filed on the same date as this patentapplication.

The fifth process step involves removing the abrasive flakes andprecursor shaped abrasive particles from the mold cavities. The abrasiveflakes can be removed from the cavities by using the following processesalone or in combination on the mold: gravity, vibration, ultrasonicvibration, vacuum, or pressurized air to remove the particles from themold cavities.

The abrasive flakes and precursor abrasive particles can be furtherdried outside of the mold. If the abrasive dispersion is dried to thedesired level in the mold, this additional drying step is not necessary.However, in some instances it may be economical to employ thisadditional drying step to minimize the time that the abrasive dispersionresides in the mold. Typically, the precursor shaped abrasive particleswill be dried from 10 to 480 minutes, or from 120 to 400 minutes, at atemperature from 50 degrees C. to 160 degrees C., or at 120 degrees C.to 150 degrees C.

The sixth process step involves calcining the abrasive flakes in an ovenor rotary kiln. During calcining, essentially all the volatile materialis removed, and the various components that were present in the abrasivedispersion are transformed into metal oxides. The abrasive flakes aregenerally heated to a temperature from 400 degrees C. to 800 degrees C.,and maintained within this temperature range until the free water andover 90 percent by weight of any bound volatile material are removed. Inan optional step, it may be desired to introduce the modifying additiveby an impregnation process. A water-soluble salt can be introduced byimpregnation into the pores of the calcined, abrasive flakes. Then theabrasive flakes are calcined again. This option is further described inEuropean Patent Application No. 293,163.

The seventh process step involves sintering the calcined, abrasiveflakes in a rotary kiln to form alpha alumina particles. Prior tosintering, the calcined abrasive flakes are not completely densified andthus lack the desired hardness to be used as abrasive particles.Sintering takes place by heating the calcined, abrasive flakes to atemperature of from 1,000 degrees C. to 1,650 degrees C. and maintainingthem within this temperature range until substantially all of the alphaalumina monohydrate (or equivalent) is converted to alpha alumina andthe porosity is reduced to less than 15 percent by volume. The length oftime to which the calcined, abrasive flakes must be exposed to thesintering temperature to achieve this level of conversion depends uponvarious factors but usually from five seconds to 48 hours is typical. Inanother embodiment, the duration for the sintering step ranges from oneminute to 90 minutes. After sintering, the shaped abrasive particles canhave a Vickers hardness of 10 GPa, 16 GPa, 18 GPa, 20 GPa, or greater.

The eighth process step involves mechanically separating the shapedabrasive particles from the sintered abrasive flake. Suitable methodsinclude an offset roll crusher, supporting the sintered abrasive flakeson a support surface and running a roller over them, passing thesintered abrasive flakes through a nip between two rotating rolls withat least one of the rolls having an elastomeric deformable cover orother means that flexes, rather than crushes, the sintered abrasiveflakes to induce breakage along the frangible support

EXAMPLES

Objects and advantages of this disclosure are further illustrated by thefollowing non-limiting examples. The particular materials and amountsthereof recited in these examples as well as other conditions anddetails, should not be construed to unduly limit this disclosure. Unlessotherwise noted, all parts, percentages, ratios, etc. in the Examplesand the rest of the specification are by weight.

A solution of 5% peanut oil in methanol was brushed onto amicroreplicated polypropylene tooling having an array of right rhombicpyramidal cavities. The rhombic base had an aspect ratio greater than2:1 (major axis:minor axis). The cavity dimensions were designed toproduce shaped abrasive particles that would pass through a 50 meshsieve but be retained on a 60 mesh sieve (i.e., particles of dimensionsbetween 250 micrometers and 350 micrometers. A boehmite sol-gel ofapproximately 30% solids was subsequently spread onto polypropylenetooling and forced into the cavities using a putty knife. Care was takento assure that the cavities were overfilled with gel so that theresulting precursor shaped abrasive particles remained interconnected bya frangible support comprising a continuous web once the sol-gel dried.The sol-gel was allowed to air dry and the precursor shaped abrasiveparticles were shaken from the microreplicated tooling which gave acollection of abrasive flakes of different sizes. The abrasive flakeswere calcined at 650 degrees C., impregnated with a rare earth oxide(REO) solution comprising 1.4% MgO, 1.7% Y₂O₃, 5.7% La₂O₃ and 0.07%CoO., dried, calcined again at 650 degrees C. and sintered at 1400degrees C. resulting in the abrasive flakes shown in FIG. 1.

A portion of the abrasive flakes were then put on a glass slide and weregently broken apart using a plastic wallpaper seam roller by rollingover the top of the abrasive flakes to separate the individual shapedabrasive particles from the abrasive flakes. The shaped abrasiveparticles were screened to separate the individual shaped abrasiveparticles from abrasive flakes that needed further treatment with thewallpaper roller. Shaped abrasive particles collected on the +300micrometer screen are shown in FIG. 3. The shaped abrasive particlesmade by this process had a residual frangible support as shown in FIG.4.

Other modifications and variations to the present disclosure may bepracticed by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure, which is moreparticularly set forth in the appended claims. It is understood thataspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged in whole or partor combined with other aspects of the various embodiments. All citedreferences, patents, or patent applications in the above application forletters patent are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety ina consistent manner. In the event of inconsistencies or contradictionsbetween portions of the incorporated references and this application,the information in the preceding description shall control. Thepreceding description, given in order to enable one of ordinary skill inthe art to practice the claimed disclosure, is not to be construed aslimiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims andall equivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sintered abrasive flake comprising a pluralityof shaped abrasive particles and a frangible support comprising aplurality of discontinuous bond posts joining the plurality of shapedabrasive particles together, wherein each shaped abrasive particlecomprises a plurality of the discontinuous bond posts.
 2. The sinteredabrasive flake of claim 1 wherein the frangible support comprises athickness from 2 to 150 μm.
 3. The sintered abrasive flake of claim 1,wherein the sintered abrasive flake comprises an average mass and theaverage mass is greater than or equal to 9×10⁻³ grams.
 4. The sinteredabrasive flake of claim 1, wherein the shaped abrasive particles, afterbeing separated, pass through a test sieve having a size of 1000microns.
 5. The sintered abrasive flake of claim 1 wherein the sinteredabrasive flake comprises from 2 to 1000 shaped abrasive particles. 6.The sintered abrasive flake of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality ofshaped abrasive particles comprises a side edge having a length, andwherein the plurality of discrete bond posts has a coverage percentagethat is equal to or less than 50%, wherein the coverage percentage iscalculated as the total distance for all discrete bond posts along theside edge divided by the length of the side edge times 100.